Lakshmipur: A court here on Wednesday convicted three employees of Lakshmipur Sarkari Shishu Paribar (orphanage) of killing an inmate in 2009 and sentenced them to life imprisonment.

The convicts were identified as ayah Hamida Khatun, vocational trainer Khairul Bashar and compounder Saifur Rahman of the government orphanage.

The court also fined them Tk 25,000 each. They will have to suffer one year more in jail in case of their failure to pay the penalty.

Besides, Hamida Khatun and Khairul Bashar were sentenced to seven years’ rigorous imprisonment and fined Tk 10,000 each on another count. However, the jail term will run concurrently.

According to the prosecution, police recovered the body of orphanage inmate and Class-II student Mamun Hossain from a nearby ditch on 2 July 2009, three days after he went missing.

Abdul Aziz Mahbub, caretaker of the institution, filed a murder case against unknown persons with Sadar Police Station on the same day.

Police submitted final report to the court on 25 October 2009 mentioning that they could not identify the killers.

Following a no-confidence petition filed by victim’s mother Rokeya Begum, the court ordered the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of police to reinvestigate the incident.

Following investigation, the CID submitted a charge-sheet on 27 November 2011 accusing Hamida, Khairul, Saifur Rahman and Babul Hossain.

After examining the records and witnesses, District and Session’s Judge AKM Abul Kasem handed down the verdict acquitting Babul who had been on the run.